Wal-Mart Partners with PAC

On June 21 Wal-Mart will welcome food industry leaders to its first Canadian

Sustainable Packaging Exposition. The event, which is sponsored, managed

and produced by the Packaging Association of Canada (PAC), and which will take place at the Toronto Congress Centre, is designed to showcase sustainable packaging initia-tives to Wal-Mart and its suppliers. The conference and tabletop event is expected to attract executives from a wide range of industry sectors, all of whom will be on the lookout for creative sustainable packaging solutions. Keynote speaker for the event is Wal-Mart Canada president and CEO Mario Pilozzi.

According to Jim Downham, PAC president and CEO, “PAC has declared sustainable packaging leadership as one of our five value drivers for the association. We have been successful at signing agreements with the two most powerful forces driving the sustainable packaging global

initiative – Wal-Mart and the [Charlottesville, Va.-based] Sustainable Packaging Coalition.”

PAC is also in the process of training up to 200 Wal-Mart executives and buyers in sustainable packaging through a program customized to fit the needs of the retail giant, says Downham.

For more information on the event, see www.pac.ca.

Packaging by Design

The winners of the biennial national packaging com-petition were celebrated in April at a gala ceremony

hosted by the Packaging Association of Canada (PAC). Hundreds of products and point-of-purchase displays

were entered in the competition, which focuses on excellence in packaging design. This year’s Best of Show win-ners included:

• The Design Exchange Award –Windset Farms brand packaging, devel-oped by Crown Creative Group, Crown Packaging and Kinky Logic Inc.

• The Consumer’s Voice Award– Brown-Forman Corporations’ paperboard wine bottle containers by

Robinson Paperboard Packaging, Battlefield Graphics and Charlton Hobbs Inc.

• The Canadian Seniors Packaging Advisory Council Award – Neilson Dairy’s The Ultimate Chocolate Milk by Davis and Alcoa Flexible Pakaging.

• The Chairman’s Choice Award – Sobeys Compliments Ice Cream by Ropak Packaging and Drukkerij Verstraete.

For a complete list of winners, go to www.pac.ca/events/events_npc2.html.

NEWSFILE

The Voice of the Canadian Food & Beverage Industry

G L O B A L S P O T L I G H T

8 • JUNE 2007 WWW.FOODINCANADA.COM

The 2007 Dairy Innovation Awards were presented during the First Global Dairy Congress organized by Zenith International in the Netherlands in March. The event attracted over 90 entries from 16 countries and showcased this year’s boldest entries in the dairy category.

• The Best New Dairy Dessert went to The Netherlands-based Campina for its fibre-rich Vifit Multivezel yogurt. Each serving of Vitfit contains as much as five grams of fibre and a daily portion of the probiotic culture LGG. The yogurt also

picked up the award for Best New Health Initiative, as well as the judges’ overall Cream Award.

• Multiple winner U.K.-based Emmi was given the award for Best New Cheese for its Swiss Alp cheese made with Swiss milk and Alpine herbs, as well as the award for Best New Dairy Drink for its Caffe Latte, a premium chilled coffee beverage available in espresso, cappuccino and ice cream.

• Winning the Best Packaging Initiative was Nestle Munch Bunch Squashums yogurt, for its fruit-shaped, three-dimensional package. Munch Bunch’s packaging is

environmentally friendly, uses 50 per cent less material in weight than standard packaging, and can be recycled. The prod-uct was entered by both Alcan Packaging Food Europe and Nestle U.K.

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New Site for Granny’s Poultry

In late March, Granny’s Poultry’s management team officially turned

the sod on the Winnipeg site that has been chosen as the company’s new head office and hatchery.

According to Brian Walker, the com-pany’s director of Business Development and Marketing, plans for the expansion had been sitting on the drawing board

for several years until management determined that the economic condi-tions were right for expansion.

Located in Transcona in northeast Winnipeg, the new $8-million facility will measure 36,000 sq. ft., compared to about 16,000 sq. ft. at the current building. “We expect to be moving in on Thanksgiving Day weekend,” says Walker.

The new hatchery will allow the company to improve productivity,

biosecurity and chick quality. In addi-tion, new systems will result in a 70- to 80-per-cent reduction in water consumption in Granny’s operations, and a matching reduction in sewage discharge. It will also mean less natural gas consumption for heating and elec-tricity for cooling.

Granny’s Poultry is Manitoba’s larg-est poultry producer and the province’s largest locally owned food processor. The company traces its history back to the 1920s. — Myron Love

Bison is Big Business

U.S. sales of bison meat grew 21 per cent in 2006, up from a 17-

per-cent increase in 2005. Most of that growth is due to emerging consumer interest in the health qualities of bison. “Bison meat is a nutritionally superior red meat,” says Dave Carter, execu-tive director of the National Bison Association (NBA), sister organization to the Canadian Bison Association (CBA). “It’s raised naturally without growth hormones, steroids, drugs or chemical residue and is extremely low in fat.” In Canada, despite the impact of drought and BSE, and the subsequent drop in prices, annual compound sec-tor growth has been about 20 per cent since 1996. It’s estimated that there are now 275,000 bison in Canada.

This year bison ranchers, producers and retailers will gather for the third International Bison Conference, tak-ing place in Rapid City, S.D., July 24 to 28. The conference will include sec-tor forecasts, trend analysis and educa-tional seminars. Collectively, the NBA and CBA have approximately 2,350 members throughout North America.

10 • jUne 2007 www.foodincanada.com

newsfIle

CorreCtionsin the story “From the Dairy Aisle” (April 2007) we wrote that Parmalat’s Beatrice Vitalité was the first and only prebiotic fibre milk in the Canadian market. since then we have dis-covered that the Quebec farmer co-operative nutrinor launched a range of milk beverages in 2004 under the name Additio. Both Additio Probiotic and Additio Calcium contain inulin fibres derived from the chicory plant.

in the article “Fibre’s new Frontiers” (May 2007) inulin was incorrectly described as a novel fibre, rather than a dietary fibre. inulin/oligofructose normalize the blood glucose levels and improve lipid metabolism.

Food in Canada regrets the errors.

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Culinology at George Brown

Toronto’s George Brown Chef School (GBCS) has been granted

exclusive rights to teach Research Chefs Association (RCA) culinary courses in Canada. The courses, which were pre-viously only available in the U.S., are part of the curriculum set by the RCA for food technologists preparing to become a Certified Culinary Scientist.

“Food technologists can expand their horizons and get a better sense of the current marketplace by upgrad-ing their skill set through the RCA courses,” says John Higgins, GBCS director and corporate chef.

The five-day courses will be offered in October, February and June, with applications accepted starting this July. More information is available at http://coned.georgebrown.ca/section/culi.html.

Newsfile

12 • juNe 2007 www.foodincanada.com

The Toronto-based Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) has appointed Penelope Marrett president and CEO. • The Hershey Company has named John C. Long vice-president of Corporate and Social Responsibility. • Oakville, Ont.-based Continental Ingredients Canada has named Stéphane Carret regional sales manager. • Belgium-based ORAFTI has appointed Dominic Speleers and Charles Degard managing directors of ORAFTI. Both Speleers and Degard will retain their current positions as heads of Sales and Marketing and Production, respectively. Meanwhile, ORAFTI Active Food Ingredients has named Tim Van der Schraelen Marketing and Communications manager. • Founder Robert E. O’Brien will serve as president of Hellertown, Pa.-based GASIAD, Inc. • Malvern, Pa. Nilfisk-Advance America has promoted District Sales manager Kim Kanis to the position of eastern region sales manager. • Cambridge, Mass.-based Grace Darex Packaging Technologies has appointed Enrique Manjarrez Market Development man-ager for the Americas. • New Hudson, Mich.-based Elopak has named Niels Petter Wright president and CEO. • Louisville, Ky.-based D.D. Williamson has appointed Sandra Nelson technical co-ordinator for D.D. Williamson (UK) Ltd. in Manchester, England.

people on the move

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WWW.FOODINCANADA.COM FOOD IN CANADA • 13

NEWSFILE

• Toronto-based Weston Bakeries Limited has been named the Official Supplier of Bread and Baked Goods for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

• Cadbury Adams Canada has signed a three-year partnership agree-ment with UNICEF Canada to support and promote the Schools for Africa program. Schools for Africa is a joint initiative between UNICEF and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, dedicated to ensuring children have access to education.

• This April saw the launch of Guelph, Ont.-based OnTrace Agri-food Traceability Inc. OnTrace is an industry-led, not-for-profit corporation that is designed to provide leadership for agriculture and agri-food traceability programs and initiatives in Ontario. The agency’s first major initiative will be to deliver the infrastructure for the Ontario Agri-food Premises Registry by December 2007.

• Boucherville, Que.-based Saputo Inc. has formed a national partner-ship with the Breakfast Clubs of Canada (BCC) to support the BCC for five years with a donation valued at $2.6 million.

• Baxters Canada Inc., a subsidiary of the U.K.-based Baxters Food Group, announced the acquisition of Toronto-based CanGro Soup Inc.

• Leamington, Ont.-based Highline Mushrooms announced the expan-sion of its Leamington West Farm, a move that will considerably

increase its growing capacity.• Vancouver-based Leading Brands, Inc. has been named the master

distributor for BooKoo energy drinks throughout Canada.• At the 12th International Rapeseed Congress in Wuhan China in

March, Dr. J.K. (Jim) Daun received the Eminent Scientist award for exceptional contributions to rapeseed improvement.

• Winnipeg-based Prairie Orchard Farms, in co-operation the China-Canada Super Food Co. Ltd., has signed an agreement to supply pork products enriched with omega-3 and selenium to select supermar-kets, restaurants and hotels across China.

• Montreal-based Van Houtte announced that it has been acquired and will be taken private by Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm Littlejohn & Co., LLC.

• A partnership between the Canadian Pork Council, Chicken Farmers of Canada, Canadian Sheep Foundation, Ontario Veal Foundationand the George Morris Centre has resulted in a project to establish a closer link between the agri-food sector and consumers. The project, partly funded through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, will use “food diaries” to track consumer purchasing behaviours for pork, chicken, veal and lamb across all retail outlets throughout Canada.

• Vancouver-based Clearly Canadian Beverage Corp. has acquired Vaughan, Ont.-based My Organic Baby, a national line of organic baby food.

IN BRIEF

You get the network.A full service distributor, offering a technically trained sales team to promote and sell yourspecialty ingredients throughout the United States and Canada. Our network also includeslocal warehousing in all major markets and professionally trained customer service represen-tatives. Supporting this is the latest in quality control and compliance.

Now enjoying our 53rd year of success, we look forward to working with you.

With Dempsey Corp. as your Distributor,

1 800 268 6798 • www.dempseycorporation.com

FOOD05_008-016.indd 13 05/30/2007 04:43:40 PM

NEWSFILE

WWW.FOODINCANADA.COM FOOD IN CANADA • 15WWW.FOODINCANADA.COM FOOD IN CANADA • 15

From May 5 to 10 this year, approximately 61,500 visitors from the meat industry worldwide congregated in Frankfurt, Germany for IFFA, the leading international

trade fair for the meat industry’s processing, packaging and sales sectors. The internationally recognized trade show, which takes place every three years, saw

attendance rise seven per cent this year, with the number of foreign visitors jumping from 39 to 46 per cent, representing roughly 100 countries. Exhibitor numbers were also up, with 913 companies exhibiting their wares, compared to 858 in 2004. The show cov-ered approximately 120,000 sq. m of exhibition space at Frankfurt’s trade fair grounds, and took place in conjunction with the Meat Vision Conference and international quality competitions.

For show organizers Messe Frankfurt, the increase in visitor numbers, as well as the increased international interest, is extremely positive for the meat industry. “The growth on both the exhibitor and visitor sides is a clear indication of the sector’s great willingness to invest, and IFFA 2007 gave the dynamically expanding market a further boost,” says Detlef Braun, a member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt. “Moreover, the trade fair is being used more and more by decision-makers from related parts of the food sector.”

While the butchering trade represented approximately 15 per cent of this year’s visi-tors, all sectors of the meat industry were in attendance. A poll conducted by Messe Frankfurt revealed that overall visitors were most interested in machinery, processing equipment and packaging products (35 per cent), as well as spices, additives and meat aids (31 per cent). A total of 96 per cent of visitors said they were “very pleased with the range of products and services at the fair.”

Of the companies exhibiting, more than a third represented the processing sector, with approximately 300 more representing packaging and weighting equipment, proc-ess control and automation technology, and storage, transport systems and refrigeration equipment. Of these, there were a number of innovations that captured guest attention,

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offering a glimpse of future trends in the industry, as well as solutions to today’s key challenges. One of these was the new Fully Automatic Die Changing System for the thermoformer Multipower by Variovac. Visitors to Variovac’s booth had the chance to see for them-selves how efficiently and easily the unit loads a forming station with different forming plates via a lift, simply by the push of a button. At the MADO booth, attendees viewed the company’s new Extrusion Grinder, which saves operators time and money by combining several processing stages in one, while focusing on ease of cleaning and operation for optimum hygiene and safety.

CFS also introduced visitors to creative solutions designed to increase efficiency, flexibility, safety and productivity with a wide variety of processing solutions. At the handtmann booth the ConPro-System emphasized versatility and efficiency through its continuous sausage production ability. The system, which features a co-extrusion process, now features filling, hanging, separating and forming functions.

Elsewhere, Food Processing Concepts offered producers a unique way to stand out in the marketplace with the Food Styler, a grilling unit that can “burn” lines, patterns and logos onto a range of products. And Klöckner Pentaplast displayed a number of new film packaging solutions, many of which focused on consumer demand for freshness, convenience and ready-to-eat products, and producer need for safety, flexibility and marketability. These included its Effect films, temperature resistant films, active packaging and easy peel and re-closeable films, as well as its biodegradable packaging film Bioform.

In keeping with the current trend towards healthier products, food ingredients and additives suppliers showed products designed to be used in functional foods, to improve product freshness and colour or to promote a healthier life-style. International flavours were highlighted as well, and many exhibitors presented innovative spice mixtures, marinades and new solutions for adding traditional smoked tastes. Of these ingredients, many were natural, organic or salt-reduced, and many contained no glutamate or allergens.

During the show, Messe Frankfurt launched a new initiative designed to tackle the issue of copyright infringement that has become a serious challenge for European manufacturers. The initiative, “Messe Frankfurt against Copying,” gives producers the information they need to register trademarks and designs, and to enforce these rights. Experts from various European organizations were on hand to discuss intellectual property rights and protection.

The next IFFA trade show will take place in Frankfurt in May 2010. For more information contact www.messefrankfurt.com.

NEWSFILE

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18 • JUNE 2007 WWW.FOODINCANADA.COM

NEWSFILE

NEW CONSUMER PRODUCTS• Toronto-based Dare Foods Limited has launched Simple Pleasures

Baked Cookie Bars, the first cookie-aisle product featuring the Health Check symbol. Each cookie bar is made with whole grain, is trans fat-free, low in saturated fat and sodium, and free of peanuts and artificial colours and flavours. The bars each come in a portable package for convenience and portion control, and are available in three flavours – Raisin Spice, California Crunch and Oatmeal Cranberry. The bars are available across Canada, sold in packs of six with a suggested retail price of $2.99.

• U.K.-based Green & Blacks, the world’s first organic chocolate brand, has launched six of its chocolate bars across Canada. The bars include: Dark 70%; Dark Chocolate and Ginger; Dark Chocolate and Mint; Milk containing 34% cocoa solids; Milk Chocolate and Almond; and Maya Gold. Green & Blacks’ bars are made with organic ingredients and are free of hydrogenated fats, added vegetable fats, pesticide residues and genetically modified ingredients. The bars were previously only available in select nat-ural food and organic retailers, but will now

be available at most major grocery retailers in all provinces. Each 100-g bar retails for approximately $3.89.

• Burlington, Ont.-based YoPRO Treats Inc. has lunched YoPRO frozen yogurt packs, a low-fat, high-protein yogurt which blends creamy chocolate with essential proteins and minerals like calcium, potassium and iron. YoPRO doesn’t contain any artificial sweeteners or preservatives, is low in saturated fats and is trans fat-free. YoPRO is available in Super Premium Chocolate and is sold in select Costco stores, Whole Foods Market and other health and fine food stores for $5.99 per 500-mL pint.

• Vancouver’s Happy Planet’s latest smoothie flavour, Extreme Purple, is a 100-per-cent natural fruit beverage featuring acai ber-ries, blackberries, peaches, bananas and apples, as well as grape-seed extract, beta carotene and vitamin C. Flash pasteurized and not from concentrate, each bottle offers two complete servings of fruit, and 150 per cent of the recommended dietary intake of vitamin C. Extreme Purple is available across Canada, in 325-mL and 946-mL bottles, priced at $2.99 and $4.99 respectively.

FOOD05_018,019.indd 18 05/29/2007 05:10:06 PM

www.foodincanada.com food in canada • 19

newsfile

Continental Ingredients Canada, Pembertons and Ecom Foods have announced a strategic sales alliance with Andy Dobson of Kool Foods to expand sales coverage throughout Western Canada. • Pierre Miclette and John Murphy have announced the return of the Metarom group to North America. Metarom Neotech is now located in St-Hubert, Que. and can be reached at (450) 443-3113. • Dartmouth, N.S.-based Ocean Nutrition Canada Limited (ONC), supplier of MEG-3 EPA/DHA food and dietary supplement ingredients, has announced that Chatsworth, Calif.-based Natrol, Inc. has included MEG-3 in its line of Lemon-Flavored Omega-3 Fish Oil supplements. • Richmond, Va.-based The Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp. has teamed up with Montreal-based Hewitt Équipement Limitée to expand its presence in the Canadian lift truck marketplace. • Margaret Lawson, vice-president of Science and Innovation at Louisville, Ky.-based D.D. Williamson, received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Southern California Institute of Food Technologists Section in May. • Univar USA has announced the expan-sion of its distribution agreement with Dow Corning. Dow has named Univar USA as a fully authorized distributor in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. • Rousselot Inc. USA has changed Canadian distributors and will now be represent-ed by Rockwood, Ont.-based FoodLinks. • Homewood, Ill.-based Silliker, Inc. has entered into a strategic partner-ship with Alchemy Systems to develop and distribute food safety training programs utilizing the Standard Industry Skills Training and Education Media (SISTEM) product. • Toronto-based Sysco Canada Inc. was awarded the 2007 International Coach Federation GTA PRISM Award for Large Business in May. Sysco was recognized for its three-year multi-phase leadership development initiative that steered its executive team through several acquisitions and aggressive growth targets. • Belcamp, Md.-based TIC Gums’ manufacturing plant has been halal-certified by the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America. • Nordson Corp. announced its Partnership+Plus program that now allows packagers to acquire new Nordson adhe-sive dispensing equipment for a monthly fee, eliminating upfront capital expenses. • Buffalo, N.Y.-based Multisorb Technologies International has acquired Silgel Packaging Ltd., a subsidiary of AMCOL Minerals Europe Ltd., and AMCOL International. • Israeli-based Solbar Industries Ltd. announced the acquisition of a controlling interest in Solbar Industries by group investors led by First Israeli Turnaround Enterprise Ltd., Mivtach Shamir Group and Ori Yehuadi. • Cincinnati, Ohio-based Ampac Packaging LLC has acquired Auburn, Wash.-based Mohawk Northern Plastics for an undisclosed amount. • Downers Grove, Ill.-based Flexible Steel Lacing Company (Flexco) will celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2007.

supplier’s update

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S p e c i a l A d v e r t i s i n g S u p p l e m e n t

I n F o o d A p p l i c at i o n sT R E N D S

This deep purple fruit that grows wild in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil is being heralded by the scien-

tific and medical communities as the worlds leading “super-food”. Açaí (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) is a natu-rally organic berry that contains more antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable. Independent testing of ORAC values by Brunswick Labs of Boston Mass, clearly shows that açaí out-performs all other fruits and vegetables by a wide margin. The Açaí berry has two times more antioxidants than pomegranates and thrice that of blueberries.

This berry, which is now readily available in North America, in pulp and powder form has the same pro-tein profile and amino acids as an egg, without the cholesterol, 33 times the cancer fighting Phenols as a glass of red wine and the fatty acid ratio of olive oil, not to mention the standard nutritional benefits of the vitamins and minerals contained within the little purple berry.

Acai is now being used in products ranging from cere-als and smoothies, to chocolates and cosmetics. For more information on Acai please contact Dempsey Corporation, the exclusive Canadian distributor of the Acai Earth Fruits product range. 1 800 268 6798

www.dempseycorporation.com

Amazon’s Super Fruit!

20 • JUNE 2007 WWW.FOODINCANADA.COM

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